Threetooth Blaasop

The threetooth blaasop is an unusual pufferfish, silvery-grey above and pale below, with an enormous fan-like flap of skin running along its belly that it can extend into a broad disc. Unlike the reef blaasops divers know inshore, this species lives well offshore in deeper water and is seldom seen alive, so most records come from anglers fishing the KwaZulu-Natal continental edge.

It takes its name from the three fused beak-like teeth in its mouth, used to crush small invertebrates. Like all puffers it carries toxins in its flesh and organs and should never be eaten. Encounters are rare enough that any sighting is worth noting, and fish are best released unharmed given how little is known about the species locally.